Late Night Emotions
by TheObscureFluffs
Summary: [sequel to 'Eh'm Nawt Seck'] Knuckles can't help but be a little sensitive, what with all he's been through. Though, one nightmare causes him to break down, and only his boyfriend, Sonic, can fix it. (slightly AU Sonic Boom universe)


Sonic yawned slightly, then slowly opened his eyes. It was probably around midnight - way too early to wake up - but Sonic quickly recognized the noise that woke him; it was Knuckles' voice. The two practically lived together at that point, and Sonic managed to get something close to a bed for his secret boyfriend to sleep on; there was no way the two would fit on the hammock together without things becoming super awkward, and Sonic was still a little too confused about his emotions to really sleep next to the echidna.

He sat up, his legs dangling over the side of his hammock as he stared down at Knuckles. The echidna was curled up slightly, shaking and shivering. He looked scared; _really_ scared.

"K-Knux?" Sonic called, getting down and walking over to him. He placed his hands on him and shook lightly, but there was no response. "Knuckles!"

He grimaced; Knuckles was probably having some sort of nightmare. He couldn't imagine what it was about, but he'd have to find a way to calm him down once he woke up and the thought worried him; he wasn't that great at comforting others.

 _...Ahah!_ Sonic snapped his fingers, getting an idea. _Maybe I could get him some water; that should help cool him down once he's up._

Looking around though, the hedgehog realized that there weren't any bottles of water in his house.

 _S-shoot!_

He tried one last time to shake Knuckles awake, then stood up and jogged over to the door. Tails wasn't that far away, and he usually had water on hand for when he was working; he could run there, sneak in, grab a few bottles, then leave.

"I'll be right back, Knux!" he said, despite knowing that his voice wasn't likely to be heard.

He took off for Tails' place, hoping that Knuckles would somehow be sleeping calmer when he got back.

Just as he left, Knuckles woke up in a sweat. His heart was pounding, and he took a moment to catch his breath.

 _Phew, it was just a dream._

He sat up, expecting to see Sonic in his hammock, but he wasn't there.

"Sonic?"

His boyfriend was nowhere to be found. He started to panic as he recalled bits and pieces of his nightmare.

 _"It's over, Knuckles!"_

 _"No, please! Don't leave me! I'm sorry! Please..."_

Knuckles began to cry fearfully. Sonic had left him in his dream, and now he was gone in real life too. What if his nightmare was coming true?

Roughly a couple minutes later, Sonic returned in his usual blur of blue light, holding up two water bottles. "Hey, Knux, I—"

He paused, seeing Knuckles breaking down on the makeshift bed. He swallowed nervously and lowered his arms; he expected him to be a _little_ stunned by the nightmare, but not like this. It made him cringe.

"H-hey, what's up?" he asked, frowning as he walked up to him. "You were shakin' earlier. Bad dream?"

Knuckles looked up at him, his eyes red and tears streaming down his cheeks. It was absolutely heartbreaking to look at.

He tried to answer Sonic's question, but all he could manage was a whimper.

Sonic flinched seeing Knuckles' face, feeling his heart aching at the sight.

Instantly, the water bottles were abandoned on the floor, and Sonic walked forward; he'd have to try something else, as water clearly wouldn't help now.

"Knuckles... it's alright, okay? It was just a nightmare," he said, placing his hands on Knuckles' shoulders in an attempt to reassure him. He didn't know what right he had to really say that. He hardly knew what was wrong; he just didn't know what else to do.

"S-S-Sonic..." Knuckles' voice was shaking as he struggled to speak between sobs. "P-please b-b-be hon-honest. D-do you... l-l-love m-me?"

His vision was blurred from his tears, and he could barely make out Sonic's face. His voice _did_ sound concerned, but how could he know for sure if Sonic was being sincere?

Sonic raised a brow, flabbergasted. "W-wha? Knux, a'course I do." He got closer and gripped Knuckles' shoulders even tighter. "What made ya ask somethin' like that?" He frowned worriedly; had he done something recently?

Knuckles sniffled. "I-in my dream, you... l-left me; said I w-w-was... s-st-stu-stupid. Y-you were so a-angry, a-and I...I w-was sc-sc-scared..." He then gave up trying to speak as more sobs racked his body.

Sonic gasped, shocked at what he was hearing. "I'd never do that!" he told him.

If it were anyone else, he probably would've been angry that they didn't trust him enough to believe that from the start, but he knew that Knuckles had a bit of a self conscious side. People generally never called the echidna stupid when he was by his side, but he was sure it happened when they were apart. Sometimes Knuckles would come home with a slightly somber look in his eyes, but Sonic could rarely get him to talk about it; even when he did, Knuckles would never go into detail about who said it, probably out of worry that Sonic would clobber whoever said it. Granted, he totally would, but that was beside the point.

"Knuckles, I care about cha a lot! I wouldn't up and leave ya, especially not like that!"

Knuckles wanted to believe him, but he was hesitant. People had betrayed his trust several times in the past, so he was scared of it happening again.

"D-do...do you promise?" He sniffled. "C-can I trust y-you?"

"What kind of question is that? A'course you can trust me!" Sonic replied, resisting the urge to yell at him; that wouldn't do any good.

Despite his words, Knuckles' demeanor still didn't seem back to its normal self. Sonic had seen this a few times before, but it had never been this bad. He didn't get self conscious moments himself, but he also couldn't even imagine how hurt he'd be if Knuckles broke up with him, so he felt some sort of connection there.

Sonic sighed, wrapping his arms around him. "Knux..." He paused. "...Knuckles."

He had to do _something_ ; he was sure of that at least. Above all else in their relationship, Knuckles enjoyed the close contact and affection he'd receive; Sonic wasn't the touchy-feelsy type, so naturally it made Knuckles feel special whenever he was the exception.

Sonic could feel a bit of guilt setting in at the thought. He hadn't been as affectionate in their relationship as he probably should've been; they didn't even sleep together. Maybe that caused Knuckles' nightmares, or maybe it didn't, but it didn't matter anymore. Knuckles needed affection, and Sonic was going to give it to him and prove how he felt.

He pulled away slightly and resumed gripping Knuckles' shoulders, giving him that soft gaze that no one else got. His heart was beating and he was near tears from seeing his boyfriend so broken up, but he wouldn't dare let that show.

Then, without warning, he rushed forward and kissed him, his face turning a deep shade of red.

It made sense for him to be so flustered. It _was_ their first kiss, after all.

Knuckles was too stunned to react at first. His face was flushed, and he felt an explosion of butterflies in his stomach. His cheeks grew extremely warm. He had wanted this for so long, and now there he was, experiencing his very first kiss.

Once he recovered from his shock, he wrapped his arms around Sonic and kissed him back. The world around him seemed to disappear as his heart beat faster than it ever had. It was almost as if time itself had stopped.

Sonic's ears perked as Knuckles kissed him back. He had actually been extremely worried when he made the first move. Despite his confident attitude, he'd never kissed anyone before, so he had no idea how to do it. He only knew that he had to try. His heart was still racing, but since he was being kissed back, he could feel relieved; he must've been doing _something_ right if that was happening.

After a moment, Sonic finally pulled away, his breathing a bit more audible than usual. He plopped down to the floor, but stayed in Knuckles' embrace and rested against his chest, still a bit stunned from the sensations rushing through him.

 _So... that's a kiss, huh?_

Knuckles still had tears streaming down his face, but they were now happy ones.

"That... was amazing," he managed to say.

Sonic was silent for a moment, then snapped out of his almost trance-like state. "O-oh, yeah! Mmhm, for sure!" He blushed and sheepishly scratched his cheek.

"So, uh..." He was almost afraid to ask, but he gently took Knuckles' hand in his own and looked up at him, deciding to do so anyway. "...feel better?"

Knuckles blushed. He nodded, smiling dreamily at his boyfriend.

"Yeah. Thanks, Sonic. I dunno what I'd do without you."

"No problem. Heh, feeling's mutual," Sonic said, nodding back to him.

"...Don't ever think that way again, alright?" he asked. "I'm not goin' anywhere. Yeah, I'm sure there's gonna be people out there who want me, but I've already got my hedgehog heart set on someone special." He smirked. "Guess who?"

"Huh? Who?" Knuckles scratched his head.

Sonic chuckled. "I'll give ya a hint. He's red, tough, and just as awesome as I am," he said. "And he's got a heart as big as he is." He reached up and lightly poked Knuckles' nose. "He's also riiiight here!"

Knuckles raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sitting on him, am I?"

Sonic burst into laughter. "Knux, it's you! We're dating after all, aren't we?"

Even though most found Knuckles' cluelessness annoying, Sonic actually thought it was kind of cute.

"I love ya, alright? Nothing's gonna change that." He usually wouldn't sound so mushy, but he figured Knuckles deserved it for today; he'd spoil him a little and hopefully that'd help him get used to things.

"Ohhhhh..." Knuckles smiled sheepishly. He blushed. "I love you too."

He threw his arms around Sonic and squeezed him affectionately. "Thanks, Sonic. That means a lot to me."

"I know," Sonic said with a giggle.

He glanced around, then caught a glimpse of the makeshift bed in the corner of his eye. "...U-uh, so!" He hid a blush. "I'm thinkin' about maybe changin' my sleeping plans for tonight," he told him. "The hammock isn't really doin' it for me any more."

Knuckles was surprised.

"But where else can you sleep?" he asked, confused.

Sonic was a little concerned at that statement. Was Knuckles being clueless, or did he just not want to be next to him? Too soon, maybe?

 _Well, worth a shot, I guess..._

"I was thinkin'... maybe..." He pointed to the makeshift bed, which was easily big enough for the two of them. "there?" He smiled sheepishly.

"But isn't that where I'm slee—" Knuckles suddenly realized what Sonic was getting at. "Ohhh..."

He blushed and smiled. "I'd love that," he said with a wink.

Sonic winked back, mentally sighing in relief. "I would too." He got out of Knuckles' grasp and crawled onto the bed, rolling over until he was on the opposite side. "Now let's get back to sleep. I'm exhausted." He yawned for emphasis.

Knuckles yawned as well. "Me too."

He got onto the bed and rolled over to face Sonic. He snuggled close to the hedgehog, wrapping an arm around him. He hoped that Sonic didn't mind if he cuddled with him.

Sonic squirmed uncomfortably at first, his face flushed red, but he quickly relaxed and laid his head down. "H-heh... if this is okay with you, it's okay with me." In reality, his heart was pounding so loud that he wondered if Knuckles could hear it, but he figured he'd get used to it.

Knuckles kissed him on the cheek.

"Goodnight."

Sonic smiled peacefully, his heartbeat finally starting to go back to normal. "G'night."

Knuckles didn't have any more nightmares.


End file.
